Book Review: Cage of Eden Volume 15

Review:  #526
Title:  Cage of Eden Volume 15
Series:  Cage of Eden - 15th volume
Author:  Yoshinobu Yamada
Read Before:  yes
Comments:  Sengoku spends the whole volume investigating the strange pyramid structure where they find out a huge revelation.  It makes the extinct animals which are roaming around the island make sense, however, much is still shrouded in mystery.  It is the constant tease of revealing the next little bit that keeps you reading, even when some of the dialogue and events are corny and cheesy.  The art style has improved a lot since the earlier volumes.  There is a nice section at the back which clarifies some of the claims the manga makes, and it’s really interesting that the author included real life facts such as cloning.

Rating:  6/10

The Maze Runner (2014)

The Maze Runner is based upon the young adult book of the same name, now, that might throw up a flag since these book adaptations usually aren't very good.  On the contrary, The Maze Runner stands up very well on its own and successfully captures your attention from beginning til end.  Thomas wakes up in a cage, arriving at the "Glade" in which he finds out that he is trapped with a group of other people (mostly male teenagers).  They are trapped within the center of a maze, everyday, they send runners out to scout for an exit, returning by sundown where the entrances are closed.  The maze then changes within the night and dangerous creatures prowl within.  Thomas' arrival triggers many changes and now the group must find a way out.  The mysteriousness of the premise and the promise of revelations explaining the whole purpose behind this maze fuels your curiosity and keeps the ball rolling.  The chase sequences are intense and actually works to keep you on the edge of your seat.  There are some flaws of the film, such as some aspects where it would be nice if they could address it (loopholes that don't make sense so to speak) and there is an extremely stubborn character who crosses the line to become annoying.  All in all, The Maze Runner was a good movie that was entertaining, intriguing and fun.

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Quickslinger

Review:  #277
Name:  Quickslinger
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release:  2015
Size Class:  Deluxe
Mold Status:  remold of Firefly with new head

COMIC:

Quickslinger comes with Robots in Disguise #11 (or Combiner Wars #3), this issue could have come with one of the Wave 1 figures (probably Alpha Bravo) since Brake-Neck came with the same comic as Dead End with a different cover.  Since the initial release of Alpha Bravo omitted the comic, Quickslinger currently has a unique issue.  The issues focuses around Starcream, and an election between him and Bumblebee.  Starscream ends up blackmailing Prowl to eliminate the rest of the Decepticons and it looks like he has the upper hand.  There is a political atmosphere to the issue which makes it interesting as you try and decipher what is going to happen next.  The ending brings back a character, one who even Starscream is afraid of.  While it'll probably make more sense if you have been following the series, if you're reading this as a one-shot, it isn't too hard to grasp what is happening.  A shout-out to the bio on the back of the packaging as they cleverly woven in Quickslinger's original name (Slingshot) into it.

JET MODE:

Quickslinger (or better known as his original G1 name, Slingshot) transforms into a white and blue jet.  It looks really nice, the blue seeming to have a blue tinge to it (it doesn't).

The rear of the jet isn't so great as you can see the obvious robot feet making the rear too thick.

Quickslinger is a Deluxe figure and he is of a decent size.

A quick comparison with Firefly, whom he shares the mold with.  The different colors does a good job of making them seem different.

You can attach all the weapons in this mode, even if you want to attach each one under a wing.  It looks fairly decent.

A fantastic jet mode with better colors than Firefly.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation is very easy and the best thing is still easily how the legs form, too bad the rest of the Aerialbots transform the same way so it loses the cleverness since this is the fifth time you've seen it within the subgroup.  Otherwise, nothing much else of note, the arms on the side of the jet is lazy.

ROBOT MODE:

Quickslinger's robot mode is very nice as well, and you can tell that Alpha Bravo's robot mode is clearly based upon this one.

There is a fair amount of kibble, being the jet nose on his back, the wings, as well as the tailfins and thick chunky legs.

Quickslinger sports a brand new headsculpt which looks very good, especially with the blue visor.

Size-wise, he retains at a respectable height, although some of his limbs feel hollow.

A comparison with Firefly and once again, they look like different bots thanks to the different primarily colors.

He comes with a gun as his main weapon.

He's very poseable, with a huge range of articulation.  That's probably the most impressive thing about this robot.

He is also very stable thanks to the large footprint.  The combiner piece as his chest is a bit bland and generic though.

His other weapon is the combiner foot/hand piece, which acts as a double barreled gun and is one of the better looking weapons.

This means he can be placed in some dual wield poses.

A nice robot mode with some good colors, excellent articulation and classic fun.

AERIALBOTS:

Of course, Quickslinger is part of the original Aerialbot team, although in the Combiner Wars universe, Powerglide is also included as part of the team, at least he is a jet as well though.

Of course, it is in robot mode where they shine, with all of the figures sharing some similar aesthetic, it makes them a unified team.

As if you need anymore reasons but Quickslinger is a must-have for the Aerialbots.

SUPERION:

That's not all since Quickslinger can combiner to form Superion.  He usually forms the left arm, and his arm mode is the better mode too.

Not to say that his leg mode is bad but just that you can see the robot arms very clearly on the sides, and it makes his legs look thicker which is not a good thing.

And now, combined, the proper update to G1 Superion in all his glory, he looks fantastic since Superion is the most symmetrical of the Combiner Wars gesalts.

Thanks to the multitude of joints. Superion himself is very poseable.  That said though, the feet looks too small while the hands look too big, this is what you get when you try and make one piece turn into a hand or foot.

Superion's weapon is Silverbolt's gigantic gun, which is now scaled much better to the figure.

You can swap the limbs around Scramble City style and have Quickslinger as a leg instead.

Note that since the figure is made up of four Deluxes and one Voyager, it is heavy and most likely, even though Superion has all these joints, you won't be able to fully utilize them since he'll fall over.

Add in Powerglide's weapon mode and voila, Superion is ready to rumble.

OVERALL:

Quickslinger is a no-brainer if you want to complete Superion like the G1 version.  However, Alpha Bravo sports a very similar color scheme and acts as a passable replacement.  Considering that Alpha Bravo was a bit hard to get being an online exclusive in limited numbers, he may be very expensive if you missed out.  If you had the means though, Quickslinger is worthwhile to get.

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Book Review: 07-Ghost Vol. 14

Review:  #525
Title:  07-Ghost Vol. 14
Series:  07-Ghost - 14th volume
Author:  Yuki Amemiya / Yukino Ichihara
Read Before:  no
Comments:  Teito continues on with this military life and refuses to believe anything anyone else says.  The plot is kept moving by Teito’s allies coming in to save him during the Princess’s birthday.  The volume carries on at a brisk pace and was kept interesting.  Teito spends a lot of time under “maintenance” though and so frequently, scenes are carried out in his sub-consciousness.  It can be confusing when this happens, especially when not all of the mechanics of the Eye of Mikael was fully explained to begin with.  During the party, things get out of control and confusion ensues, the reader is not left out in this aspect.  Frames become a mess and are hard to make out what is actually happening.  However, the ending was good in that it presents a big revelation.

Rating:  6/10

In Time (2011)

In Time features a world where once people reach 25, their bodies do not age anymore.  This gives the potential to live forever... with one twist.  From their 25th birthday, a clock starts counting down and once it reaches zero, they die, no matter what.  They get given one year.  What this created was an economy where the currency is time, they pay, receive, steal and borrow time, time is literally money.  So while the idea sounds intriguing, in the end, it is just something gimmicky.  However, In Time manages to tell an interesting story.  Will manages to get 100 years of time and he sets out to destroy the corrupted system in which prices are automatically adjusted everyday so that the poor remain poor and the rich remain rich.  It first starts out as a selfish scheme before he realizes how unfair the system is and sets out to a Robin Hood type hero.  He is joined by a heiress and while there are certainly many aspects of the movie where it is flawed, especially with the whole time thing and segregated zones where you have to a minimum amount of wealth to stay in (so doesn't that mean all the waiters should be rich?  Which negates them having the need to work at such a lowly job?), In Time keeps your attention.  There are strong appearances, particularly Cillian Murphy.  Overall, In Time manages to make the concept work if you're willing to forgive a few things along the way.

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Brake-Neck

Review:  #276
Name:  Brake-Neck
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - Combiner Wars
Year of Release:  2015
Size Class:  Deluxe
Mold Status:  remold of Dead End with new head

COMIC:

Unfortunately, Brake-Neck comes with the same comic issue as Dead End, which is Robots in Disguise #16.  A bit disappointing as it would have been better if a non-duplicate issue was provided.  Anyway, this is the last issue in the Superion/Prowlastator arc.  Ironhide and the Dinobots come to help out the battle against Devastator.  The way Devastator was defeated was to be expected since they can't have too much violence in this area, however, it was still somewhat anticlimactic.  The best part of the issue was the ending, and how everything finalized itself.  The way it ended felt natural and made sense, especially considering how Starscream and Bumblebee were thinking throughout the arc.  Megatron's involvement and his defeat was disappointing too.  Overall, the story was decent, artwork was good and it was engaging throughout.  A shout-out to the bio on the back of the packaging as they cleverly woven in Brake-Neck's original name (Wildrider) into it.

VEHICLE MODE:

Brake-Neck, or really, Wildrider as he was known in G1, transforms into a grey sports car with red on the sides.

This is a really good mold and is one of the best in the Combiner Wars line.  The rear of the vehicle doesn't have any exposed robot bits which is rare these days, and while there are still two different colored plastics used, it is not as obvious as on Dead End or Streetwise.  Unfortunately, they couldn't be bothered to paint the rear windows, :(.

In terms of size, Brake-Neck is a Deluxe figure and he is a decent size against the older Deluxes from a few years back.

A quick comparison with Dead End, where there are no mold differences in this mold.  It sucks that Brake-Neck couldn't get a new mold but he looks pretty good now anyway.

You can attach all the weapons in this mode although it doesn't look that great.  Of note is that Brake-Neck is an online retailer exclusive, while a lot of retailers stocked him, all had really limited numbers.

A great vehicle mode overall.

TRANSFORMATION:

Brake-Neck has a neat transformation, while it is simple, it is clever and fun.  The way the legs form is different to the other Combiner Wars figures and very intuitive, while the head hidden underneath the hood and having the chest flap covering over the chest is also great.

ROBOT MODE:

Onto robot mode, where a lot more red shows up, mainly around the limbs.  This is a great looking robot mode, with fantastic proportions and some nice sculpting.

He does carry the vehicle hood on his back but it sits very close to his body so doesn't ever feel like it gets in the way or a piece of unwanted plastic.

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Brake-Neck gets a new headsculpt for this figure, it looks nice although it is a big organic, it's also a bit slim, being slightly wider would have helped.

In terms of size, Brake-Neck reaches a respectable height and he feels substantial in your hands too.

Now a quick comparison with Dead End, both look good in their own ways.

As expected, poseability is excellent.  Brake-Neck feels more agile and flexible than many other figures, that said, the elbows are kinda weird in how the joint is positioned.

His large feel also allows Brake-Neck to achieve many action poses without fear of falling down.

He combines with a club that looks like an exhaust pipe (although it is not an integral part of the vehicle).

Brake-Neck is able to hold the club weapon in either hand although it looks somewhat awkward to use as a weapon.

The other way you can do it is try to let him hold it as a tonfa and it even seems like it was designed that way, however, the plastic that juts up under the wrists prevents Brake-Neck from holding it this way securely.

One of the best things about this mold is that they covered the combiner piece in his chest, which gives Brake-Neck a more unique flair.

His other weapon is the extra combiner piece that forms either the hand or foot.

It can be held like a gun, of note is that the mold is exactly the same as Dead End's.

The better way to use it (since the gun is so oversized) is as a shoulder shield.  A great robot mode, the red and grey works really well together.

STUNTICONS:

Of course, Brake-Neck is supposed to replace Offroad within the Stunticons subgroup, and you cannot deny that he fits right in and looks better than Offroad, thanks to the racing theme within the group.

Including Blackjack into the mix and you have the complete updated Stunticons.

In robot mode, they look equally good although it is fairly obvious that Dead End and Brake-Neck share the same body type.

Nevertheless, Brake-Neck is pretty much required if you intend to form Menasor the way he was meant to be.

MENASOR:

In traditional G1 scramble city style fashion, Brake-Neck can form either a leg or an arm.  His leg mode is pretty basic being the vehicle with the hood flipped over (although it's not a knee cap).

His arm mode is pretty good although the forearm is a bit too wide.

Combined as Menasor, he looks fantastic, also mainly because his legs are more symmetrical now that both legs have the combiner ports exposed (since Offroad covers one with a kneecap).

Poseability as Menasor still stays the same, which is to say, fairly unstable due to Motormaster's weak joints.

You can swap the limbs around if you wish.

Fantastic looking and finally true to the original, Brake-Neck enhances Menasor.

OVERALL:

Brake-Neck is a fantastic figure.  While being a remold of Dead End is a bit of a downer, he still looks great, plus, he has a remolded head.  Of course, the real draw is being able to form Menasor that stays true to his G1 self.  Definitely worthwhile to get however, if you want a Menasor from fully unique molds, then you might want to just stick with Offroad.

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